The Dove that Softened the Skull
by KeeponReadin
Summary: Pipico. Doves and... Skulls? Nico and Piper were a world away until they unexpectedly decided to close the gap. I don't own anything, Rick Riordan is a genius!
1. Chapter 1

**The Dove that Softened the Skull:**

**Chapter 1:**

It all started here. But that's not uncommon. For almost every Demigod it starts here. A place protected and preserved for those who are a little more than mortal, Camp Half-Blood. For Nico Di Angelo it started here. For Piper McLean it started here as well. What started here was adventure. What started here was friendship and eventually a little more. As Nico sat on his rock out looking a vast, cavernous expanse of nothing he thought about it. He often came to this exact spot in the Underworld. It was his sanctuary, where he could think without the interruption of others. Where he could think clearly… well not until it came along, now nothing was clear to him. He thought about it every day of his life. He thought about it until his head hurt. _Ugh, _Nico thought, _I'm losing it, I'm wasting my life thinking about it… thinking about her. _But little did he know she did it too. Every little thing she noticed she could make a connection. _Oh look, _She thought, _it's a… _But she'd have to drop out mid-thought because it reminded her too much of him. It reminded her too much of the guy she _shouldn't_ like. She should like someone like Jason or an Apollo guy of some sort, like all of her other sisters. But no, she had to like the son of Dead Head Hades instead. Although the more she thought about it the more it made sense. She was actually proud of the fact that she wasn't just another Aphrodite girl. She was Piper and that was all she could be. Nico, however, was not proud. He was frustrated and when he wasn't thinking he was beating his head against a wall trying to make his life make sense. _I can't tell Dad, _Nico thought momentarily pausing from the brutal beating he was giving himself, _he'd kill me. _He had to get back to Camp he needed to talk to someone anyone really, to set things straight. He had to get away forget about her somehow he _had_ to get her out of his head. _No,_ something or someone deep inside of him said, _you need her. _He decided to stick with that voice no matter how crazy it was, because it was true. With that he shadow traveled to a tree on the edge of the lake. He turned and…

"Nico," Piper said from behind him, "is that you?"

Nico turned around smiling nervously, "In the flesh."

"Gods, Nico you gave me a heart attack!" Piper sighed.

"Well, you know, I have that effect on people," Nico laughed.

"Yeah right, the only thing scary about you is your breath!" She joked.

Nico breathed into his hand and sniffed it self-consciously, "Aw, come on, Piper. It's not that bad is it?"

"No I was just kidding, Nico, jeez take a joke." Piper teased.

"Hm… haven't heard one of those in a while," Nico said amusement and sorrow mixed in his voice, "not a lot of jokes in the Underworld."

"Yeah," Piper agreed, "why are you here anyways?"

_To see you,_ Nico thought. If only it were that easy. If only he could just come out and say, "Hey Piper I like you." But no, he was a shy son of Hades who rarely left the Underworld. She was an extremely social daughter of Aphrodite whose power came from her voice. Could he just lie to her and tell her he was here to see Chiron? Or-

"Well, if it isn't my second favorite cousin, Nico Di Angelo!" Percy yelled while running towards Nico and Piper.

" 'Second favorite'? Have I been demoted dearest cousin?" Nico said while wiping away a fake tear.

"Nah, Thalia would kill me if I didn't say she was first," Percy said checking to see if she wasn't around.

"Yeah that's probably true," Nico laughed, "remember that time the Stolls put glue on the door knob to the Zeus cabin door?"

"How could I forget?" Percy smiled, "The Stolls still regret that one to this day!"

"Well, I'll see you later, Nico." Piper said with a smile.

"Yeah, later," Nico sighed.

After Piper left Percy asked, "Dude what's wrong with you? You look like somebody just shot your hellhound."

"Uh, nothing…" He said looking down at his shoes like he was embarrassed.

Percy laughed and put his hand on Nico's shoulder, "Aw, does my baby cousin have a crush?"

"No!" Nico said a little too aggressively.

"Hey, whatever man. I was just going to give you a little advice." Percy raised his hands in surrender.

Nico looked up eagerly at his cousin, "What kind of advice?"

"Love advice," Percy said with a sly grin.

"Psh, what do you know about love?" Nico teased.

"More than you do," Percy laughed slightly.

"Alright, fine," Nico gave in.

"If I were you," Percy whispered so only Nico could hear, "I'd watch out for Jason. He likes Piper too and well… there could be problems if he found out about… you know."

"Yeah okay, thanks Percy." Nico whispered back shaking his cousin's hand.

"Don't mention it," Percy smiled. "Well, I'd better get back to Annabeth before she files a missing person's report on me."

"Alright see you later." Nico waved as Percy ran back to the Sword fighting arena.

_Man, _Nico thought as he watched Percy disappear out of sight, _Percy has it easy. _But, then Nico figured out what he had to do. No, he didn't like it. He was actually quite scared. He had to go talk to Piper again. Nico gulped and his palms got sweaty. _It's now or never,_ Nico thought while making his way to the Aphrodite cabin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, this is KeeponReadin' just going to say a few things:**

**1) I don't own Percy or any of Rick Riordan's characters from the books  
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**2) I got bored and proofread this chapter and decided to just "Get 'er Done" and post it**

**3) Please feel free to click that Review button at the bottom and tell me what you think!  
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**4) This is my first story so enjoy!**

**Chapter 2:**

For Nico life was complicated. Death, however, wasn't really that complicated at all. The way Nico looked at it once you were dead you were pretty much done. No questions asked you got over it and got used to it. Pretty open and shut… life wasn't that easy. In life you had to confront things that messed with you and if you didn't they would haunt you the rest of your life. The thing that was messing with him right now wasn't like anything that had ever messed with him before. Sure he'd had crushes before and had his heart and brain utterly ripped out. But this was different. This wasn't a ripping sensation, it was a painfully slow tearing feeling that was pulling apart his insides and rearranging them. Rearranging them in such a way that it messed up his brain too. It was probably one of the weirdest things he'd ever felt and trust me he's had his fair share. It was weirder than shadow traveling and witnessing lost souls in the Underworld. He was in such deep thought about what he was going to say to Piper that he bumped right in to someone.

"Oh I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-," His heart skipped a beat and began a new rhythm all on its own: _Piper. Piper. Piper._

"No it's okay." Piper said still in shock from bumping to Nico twice in one day, "I should've been- Nico, are you okay?"

"Um… uh… yeah I'm okay." _Real smooth Di Angelo, real smooth…_

"So, you never answered my question from earlier," Piper said as casually as possible while on the verge of hyperventilating, "why are you here?"

"Multiple reasons," _Yeah that's a good answer, way to go… NOT! _

" 'Multiple reasons'?" Piper asked curiously. "I may be a daughter of Aphrodite but I know when something's up."

"Well, I'm here mostly to see friends and see what everyone's up to…" Nico said suddenly taking great interest in his shoes.

" 'Mostly'?" Piper asked trying to meet his gaze.

"Yeah," Nico sighed looking into her eyes.

They just stood that way for a while. Both completely lost in deep thought. Personally Nico could've stayed that way for the rest of his life not having to face anyone or do anything except stare into Piper's kaleidoscope eyes. It comforted him in a strange way. But then again Nico's whole life was centered on that word: strange. In a way he liked it. He liked being different and he liked being his own person. Piper was enjoying herself just as much as Nico was yet they were totally oblivious to the fact that they both liked each other. She kind of liked the mystery and darkness hidden in his dark eyes. She couldn't help but think how different they were. He was quiet and more reserved while she wasn't afraid to let people know what she was thinking. She also liked how he was understanding and actually quite gentle for a son of Hades. However, their moment was short lived because a basketball was thrown and collided with the back of Nico's head causing him stumble forward into Piper. Once Nico realized how close they were he automatically stepped back.

"S-S-Sorry Piper… I didn't mean to…" He stuttered trying to regain his composure.

"It's okay Nico it's not your fault," She patted him on the back. "I'll be right back."

Piper was furious and honestly she wasn't sure why. Yeah, it was bad that they hit him on the head with the ball but she was absolutely livid. Why would anyone deliberately hit someone with a basketball? She picked up the ball and walked directly toward the person who threw it: Jason Grace. When he saw her coming he approached her. While Nico, since he didn't want to feel like an idiot, followed close behind her.

"Hey, Piper," Jason said waving at her with a warm smile, but then noticed Nico and spoke in a colder tone, "and look who we have here. Well if it isn't my cousin Nico Di Angelo."

Surprisingly Nico was the first to speak, "Hey Jason how's it going? Long time no see." Nico gently took the basketball out of Piper's hands and handed it to Jason. "Here. I believe this is yours."

"Yeah, whatever," Jason said taking the basketball, "why are you here anyway?"

"Just visiting," Nico said, "well I'd better go talk to Chiron before I have to head back to the Underworld. No doubt Dad's missing me." Nico turned around and started to leave when Piper called after him.

"Wait, Nico," Nico spun around to look at Piper, "I need to talk to Chiron too. Can I come with you?"

"Sure the more the merrier," He replied with a smile.

They walked in a comfortable silence to the Big House. Nico was just breathing in the fresh summer air and admiring the beautiful rays of fresh sunlight when Piper broke the silence.

"Nico, do you ever get lonely in the Underworld?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah I'm lonely most of the time actually." Nico replied his voice was intricately laced with a deep sadness, "Ghosts don't make as good company as you'd think."

"Oh, is that why you visit Camp sometimes? Why don't you just stay here?" Piper inquired while tilting her head to see his expression as they walked.

"I don't know. I kind of don't belong here…" Nico said once again looking down at his shoes not wanting to meet Piper's curious eyes. "How many other kids do you see in the Hades cabin? I'm an outsider I do better on my own."

"I don't think you're an outsider," She said quietly.

"Thanks, Piper that means a lot to me," Nico said nervously. "Really, every time I come here and stay in the empty Hades cabin it reminds me that my sister Bianca is dead and she's not coming back and I probably won't see her for a long time. It's hard to move on and forget when you are frequently reminded about it."

Piper stopped and faced him. "Nico, I'm sorry."

"Hey it's okay it's not your fault, it's nobody's fault." Nico sighed looking off into the distance.

"I'm sorry." She repeated and hugged him.

Nico was so surprised he almost fell over and died of shock. Piper was shocked too. She hadn't really meant to hug him but she just kind of did. Nico stood there like an idiot until his brain registered what had happened and hugged her back. They stood there for a while just hugging until finally they both got back to reality and stepped away. They were both blushing like crazy. Nico was scratching his head and looking anywhere but at Piper. Piper broke the nervous silence.

"Well, let's go see Chiron," Piper said.


	3. Chapter 3

**KeeponReadin' here once again just going to say a few things before we get this chapter underway:**

**1) I own nothing of Rick Riordan's... He's a beastly writer and he owns all things Percy Jackson  
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**2) We are having a Snow Day tomorrow so I will probably be able to write and proofread a couple chapters tomorrow  
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**3) Thanks for everybody who reviewed my previous chapters! You guys are awesome!**

**4) Please click the button on the bottom of the page that says: "Review" I enjoy your feedback!  
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**5) I'm done you can read now  
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**Chapter 3:**

"Ah, Nico good to see you," Chiron smiled at the sight of the son of Hades. "It's been quite a while since we last spoke to each other."

"Yeah it has," Nico returned Chiron's kind smile and shook his hand. "Chiron, I need to ask you something."

"Anything," Chiron said, his expression dripping with curiosity.

"I need to ask you if it's okay if I stay here for a while," Nico said while fiddling with his fingers. "It gets kind of lonely in the Underworld and I need to brush up on my fighting skills." _Lame excuse..._ Nico thought slightly shaking his head.

"Of course you can, Nico. I'll contact your father and inform him," Chiron said with a relieved smile. Being the wise old centaur he was his eyes wondered over to Piper and then to Nico and back to Piper. He smiled again as he put two and two together and got… well four. Chiron then turned his attention to Piper and asked if she had needed anything in particular.

"Um, actually Chiron I was going to ask you about…" Piper started. _Actually, _Piper inwardly scolded herself, _I just came here so I could spend some more time with Nico. _"I was going to talk to you about the new shower schedule for the Aphrodite cabin."

"Ah, yes, Piper. I have it here actually." He said handing her a pink sheet.

"Thanks, Chiron," Piper said taking the sheet that read in small barely legible handwriting: _Go with your heart._ She looked up and saw a broad grin on Chiron's face. _I probably look really stupid right now, _Piper thought. 

That night at dinner Nico sat alone at the Hades table thinking once again about Piper. Piper wasn't really into her sibling's conversations or her dinner because she was busy trying to figure out why Nico had decided to stay so abruptly. Was it because of her? That seemed highly impossible. Her train of thought, however, was interrupted by her sisters' gossiping. "Jen, you will never believe this!" Emily all but shrieked with joy.

"Why? What is it, Em?" Jennifer asked mirroring her excitement.

"I heard that that What's-His-Name son of Hades is here," They all gasped at Emily's news but she wasn't done yet. "And, he's here because of some girl!" They all gasped again and gaped at Emily wondering how and where she had heard such news. Piper was about to jump onto her and scold her for gossiping, when Drew came to her rescue.

"Jennifer, Emily, now what have I told you two?" Drew said with a descending yet sweet tone.

"No gossiping," They chorused together, receiving many giggles from their siblings.

"And, that goes for the rest of you as well," She said shaking her head in slight disappointment. After the talking died down Piper turned to Drew.

"Hey, thanks for handling that," She said smiling at Drew.

"No problem, sis," Drew said perkily.

"What has Connor Stoll done to you?" Piper laughed happily, remembering the old Drew and how much better the new one was.

"He changed my outlook on life." She said simply as Connor himself came over.

"Speaking of Hades," Piper said greeting Connor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, my Dad and Connor are _nothing_ a like!" Nico exclaimed from behind, once again giving Piper a mini-heart attack.

"Not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult…" Connor said scratching his head. They all burst out laughing as Drew gave Connor a comforting hug. 

Later that night Nico watched lost in thought as the sun slowly shrank below the horizon. _How is it, _Nico thought, _that I can talk to dead people like it's no big deal and summon them with Coke and a McDonald's Happy Meal yet I can't even have a conversation with Piper without totally losing my marbles?_ Nico was so consumed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the soft footsteps coming up the beach. He only noticed her when he tilted his head ever so slightly. Nico nearly jumped out of his shoes when he realized it was the person he needed to get away from. Ironically he was trying to get away from the person he came to see, _Piper. _Something about her was different: her shoulders sagged and lacked the confidence she was known for, her eyes weren't as vibrant and full of life, and worst of all tears could be plainly seen falling from her eyes. Nico stood up so abruptly he himself was shocked. Also, he was filled to the brim with an unrecognizable emotion. _No,_ he thought, _I've felt this way before but… but not since… Bianca died. _Then realization hit him like a basketball to the head. That emotion was _anger_. But not just any anger. The anger he felt was pure, unbridled, I'm-going-to-beat-the-crap-out-of-you anger. He walked over to where she stood crying and took her hands and moved them away from her face so he could look into her eyes. "Piper, what's wrong?" Nico said but it came out a lot more forceful and aggressive than he had meant it to.

"N-N-Nothing," She sobbed, hiding her eyes from Nico.

"Hey," He said in a much calmer tone once again removing her hands from her face. "I may be a son of Hades but I know when something's up."

Piper laughed a little and finally met his eyes. In only a few seconds she was utterly lost in the mysteriously consuming abyss of his eyes and facial features. _Oh Gods, _Piper cringed inwardly, _I'm starting to sound like my sisters! _Nico used his thumb to wipe away her tears. "Now for real tell me what's wrong?" Nico said again enveloping her in a brotherly hug.

"I-I can't tell you," She mumbled low enough so only he could hear.

"Piper, you can tell me anything," He said reassuringly stroking her hair. Piper for once was speechless. She just stood there and let Nico comfort her. It felt good to just let it all out and be free of responsibility for at least a few minutes. _I can't take it Mom,_ Piper groaned looking up at the stars hoping her Mother would somehow hear her, _why him? Why me? Why is it so wrong when it feels so right? _Nico finally (against his will) broke away from the hug and walked away. He was kind of hurt because Piper didn't trust him. Maybe he was just nosy? _Trust,_ the word echoed in his head. _Trust,_ the word almost felt like an insult now. A slap in the face, because whether he liked it or not _trust _just didn't fit in his dictionary.


	4. Chapter 4

**KeeponReadin' here... just going to say a few things and then you can read:**

**1) I do not own any of Rick Riordan's characters, places, ideas, etc.  
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**2) Who ever can spot the phrase that has been used by: Piper, Nico, and now Percy is awesome**

**3) Yeah I have nothing to give you if you can spot it but awesomeness sorry about that**

**4) Anyways please review I love it when you guys do... it makes me happy!  
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**5) Let the reading commence!  
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**Chapter 4:**

He just walked away, leaving her there to deal with her problems. But why hadn't she just told him? He _trusted _her and then she goes and makes him feel like an idiot by not returning it. _How, _she wondered, _could she talk someone into giving her a helicopter but not be able to tell Nico her feelings for him? _Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe her Mom was doing this to keep Piper from getting hurt in the end. _No,_ Piper told herself, _my Mom doesn't control my love-life, I do. _Meanwhile, Nico was pondering the same thing. Would his Dad approve? Did Piper actually like him? Was Aphrodite doing this? Would his Dad approve? He knew some of the answers though, already. His Dad would never approve of anything Nico did, and Piper couldn't possibly like him. She had Jason and pretty much a whole camp full of boys that liked her. But then again who couldn't like Piper? She's sweet and funny… _No! _Nico yelled at himself, _I can't think like that! She doesn't love me and she never will no matter how much I love her! _Nico's head hurt. It throbbed to see the one person he had the craziest mixed up feelings about. He actually didn't know what to think about her. He loved her and hated her at the same time, her laugh and smile haunted every single dream he had, her eyes were like chocolate one second then a crystal clear lake the next then a grassy meadow. _Face it, Nico, _Crap! That voice is back, _you love her and there's not a single thing you can do about it! Why not?_ He challenged the voice. But just as quickly as it came, it left. Leaving him to once again think about how he was hopelessly in love with someone who couldn't possibly love him back.

The sun began to rise at dawn stirring Nico out of his thoughts. He had stayed up all night thinking about her. _Again, _he said to himself shaking his head. But being a son of Hades who was constantly on the run sleepless nights just didn't faze him anymore. He got up and stretched his stiff back and legs and then went to take a shower and then wait around until breakfast. At the same time in the Aphrodite cabin Piper was having a nightmare. _Piper, dear, there's no point in running from me. _A booming voice echoed giving Piper a tremendous headache. _I know you better than you know yourself, darling. I know your fears, I know your thoughts, and most importantly I know your loved ones. _Piper didn't care who or what that _thing _knew, she was more focused on running away from that voice, wherever it came from… _There is no escape! I am everywhere! I am the ground your feet tread upon! I am… _But Piper didn't care she bolted upright in bed, beads of… tears? Or was it sweat? Whatever they were she was nearly soaked in them **(A/N: No, it wasn't pee)**. She looked out of her cabin's windows and realized what time it was. Piper scrambled out of bed and into the shower. Nico scratched his head. He had to talk to her and at least tell her he was sorry for leaving her like that. The more he thought about it the more he thought of how big of a jerk he had been. Leaving her there was bad enough but while she was _crying?_ _Why am I such an idiot?_ Nico asked… maybe himself at that point he didn't even know who or what was listening to him. Nico left for breakfast still inwardly scolding himself for his stupidity and rash behavior. Could she ever forgive him? Nico knew she wasn't going to be more than a friend for him so he had given up on that. Really, he just wanted to see her happy. He didn't really care who it was as long as he treated her right and she was happy. That was all that mattered right? But no matter how good the thought sounded Nico hated it. He wasn't just going to let her go without a fight. No he loved her more than that. But after all she was a person and not a prize to be won so he knew that it would be all up to her in the end. _I've got to man-up, _Nico told himself, _and talk to her and tell her how I- _I thoughts were stopped short because he bumped into Piper on her way to breakfast. They collided head on and both of them wound up on the ground. Nico let out a shaky laugh and said, "We have to quit meeting like this."

Piper laughed. "A simple 'Hi Piper how are you' would suffice, Nico." Nico stood and held out his hand to Piper. She took it and he helped her up. They walked to breakfast together in silence. Little did they know when they got there they were still holding hands. Everyone went silent. Nico and Piper were extremely red in the face as they dropped hands and went to their separate tables.

When Piper sat down Drew had a mischievous grin. "Piper, were you holding hands with Nico?" She whispered into Piper's ear.

Piper's face reddened a little more and she stuttered out. "Uh… um… n-no you see we kind of ran into each other and he helped me up."

Drew's smile broadened. "Okay, Piper, whatever you say."

On the other side of the Mess Hall Percy was questioning Nico. "Nico, you were holding hands with Piper! I may be a son of Poseidon but I know when something's up." Breakfast was ending and campers began to disperse to their activities. Annabeth, however, came over to see what Percy and Nico were doing.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Annabeth asked curiously looking from Percy to Nico to back to Percy.

Nico looked like a deer in headlights, so Percy spoke for him. "Aw, nothing just asked Nico what's up with him and Piper."

"Yeah, I noticed that…" Annabeth said raising one eyebrow towards Nico. Nico was now getting double-teamed so he definitely knew he wasn't getting out of this one. Percy, he could handle but not Annabeth. She was a force to be reckoned with and she always got what she wanted… one way or another **(A/N: Annabeth's a honey badger)**. "Nico, spill," she said giving him the deadly: are-you-going-to-talk-or-do-I-need-to-make-you glare.

Nico, being the smart boy he was told her. "Um… well, I kind of bumped into Piper on the way to breakfast and we both fell down so I helped her up."

"Likely story," Annabeth said with a smile. "Come on, Percy we're going to be late for archery." Percy groaned at the thought of archery. Annabeth took his hand and he immediately perked up and walked with her to where Chiron was teaching archery. Nico really didn't have a schedule so he just went with them, but on their way he noticed the Aphrodite cabin at the climbing wall and decided to pay Piper a visit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey it's me, KeeponReadin' with the 5th installment of my first ever story. But first things first:**

**1) I don't own Percy Jackson or any of his Demigod/Mythical pals  
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**2) I appreciate all of you guys who reviewed my previous chapters!**

**3) Review please! **

**4) Alright I'll shut up so you can read...  
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**Chapter 5:**

Drew had fallen off the wall for the second time in 30 minutes when Piper felt someone besides one of her siblings looking at her. She turned to see who it was… and she was in for a shocker as usual. Nico was coming towards her. _He probably just dropped something when we fell earlier and is wondering if I know where it is. _But she was dead wrong.

"Hey, um, Piper I need to talk to you about something," Nico said his voice nearly cracking with nervousness.

"What is it, Nico?" Piper asked meeting his dark eyes with her kaleidoscope eyes.

"Well, I'm really sorry about last night. I shouldn't have left you all alone especially since you were sad." He said pausing to look down at the dirt. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Listen, Nico, I'm sorry it was entirely my fault I shouldn't have treated you like dirt… you trusted me and I… I'm sorry, Nico." She said her eyes gradually filling with tears.

"Hey it's cool; it's all in the past. No more crying." Nico said meeting her eyes again and wiped away a small tear that fell. "No more secrets. You can tell me anything." He stared at her and into her eyes. She nodded her head in understanding and he smiled at her.

"Hey, Piper, it's your turn!" Drew called after her. Piper looked at Nico.

"Go kick that wall's butt," He said smiling.

"Don't I always?" Piper said jokingly as she jogged over to climb the wall. Nico followed her and watched as she scaled the wall with ease until a jet of lava shot out and nearly burnt her alive. After narrowly escaping the lava she missed a foot-hold and nearly fell off the wall again. Nico looked over at Drew with a worried expression and Drew gave him a reassuring nod.

"She's got this," Drew said.

"I hope so," Nico said grimly. "Don't want to be seeing her in the Underworld."

"You pessimist," Drew teased and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"What else can you be when your Dad's the Lord of the Dead?" He said with a smile returning his attention to Piper on the wall, just in time to see her temporarily lose her grip and fall a few feet. But she quickly regained her grip and started climbing again. After about 20 more agonizing minutes she finally reached the top and made her way back down.

"Great job, Piper," Nico said hugging her. "Next time try to be a little more careful."

Piper was in a state of shock after the hug. "T-thanks, Nico." She gave Nico a warm smile.

"Alright, you lovebirds break it up, its Nico's turn," Drew was grinning slyly. Nico and Piper were blushing furiously as Nico approached the wall.

"Time for me to show you how we climb walls in the Underworld," He said with a smile and shadow traveled to the top of the mountain.

He received a chorus of "Hey, no fair!" and, "How did he do that?" and, "He cheated!" Nico laughed and shadow traveled back to the bottom of the mountain, where he was getting the "stare down" from most of the Aphrodite cabin. Piper and Drew just rolled their eyes.

"What activity will I beat you guys at next?" Nico asked putting his hands behind his head like it was no big deal.

"One, you didn't actually beat us because you cheated," Piper teased. "Two, who said you, could come with us?"

He smiled and pointed to himself. "I did, plus," he put his arm around Piper. "I think you want me to come."

Piper rolled her eyes again as they walked ahead of the Aphrodite cabin. "Whatever," Nico reached around her and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket that read: _Camp Activities Schedule._ "Hey, give me that," Piper said reaching for the paper. Nico jerked it out of her reach at the last second.

"Nah, since it's so important to you I think I'll hold on to it a little bit longer," Nico said once again pulling the paper out of her reach.

"Nico," She whined. "I need that!" He opened it up and began to read their schedule.

"Hm, looks like we're heading to archery next," Nico said folding up the paper.

"Can I have it now, Nico?" Piper begged using her best puppy dog face.

"Gods, that look is _very_ convincing but I just need to keep this paper with me," He said with a cocky smile while putting the paper in his back pocket.

"Fine, I can play that game too." Piper smirked while holding up his sword.

"What? How did you get my sword?" He asked his cocky smile had vanished and now he looked panicked.

"My schedule for your sword," She said holding out her hand expectantly.

"Fine, you're too smart for me," He sighed and handed over her schedule.

Piper leaned in and whispered into his ear, "Get used to it,"

Nico smiled. "I already am." He noticed that she had slipped his sword back into his sheath and had started to walk away. "Hey where are you going?" He shouted after her.

She stopped and let him catch up. "Archery,"

"Do you like archery?" Nico asked. She could tell a look of mischief was about to surface on his face.

"It's not my favorite activity. Why?" Piper asked curiously.

"Come on, I have something to show you," Nico smiled as he said it and he held his hand out to her.

**Sorry this one was kind of short compared to the others... Review, review, review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey I is back! Woot woot! Pipico for all! First things first though:**

**1) I don't own anything PJatO or HoO  
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**2) I don't know if I'll be able to post this weekend or not... **

**3) If I am able to post I'll probably do my MoA then this**

**4) Stop! Reading time!  
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**Chapter 6:**

"We're almost there," Nico said smiling to himself. _She'll love this. _Piper nodded and continued to follow Nico as they went deeper and deeper into the woods. Sometimes dryads would pop out to say hello. But Piper wasn't really interested in that, she was more interested in their destination. If she was being completely honest with herself she would've said that she was just excited about being with Nico. What was with him anyway? He always wanted to go everywhere with her and do everything with her and when they weren't together they eventually bumped into each other. Maybe they were meant to be after all. _No you can't set yourself up to get hurt. You're just his friend, Piper! _Friend, the word stings when used in context with Nico. She was deep in thought when she tripped over the root of a tree and fell face first into Nico who had stopped. "We're," he began but noticed her falling just in time to spin around and catch her, "here." He held her in his arms for a minute… maybe two. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Thanks," She said and stepped out of his embrace, blushing.

"No problem," He sighed scratching his head in embarrassment. Then that's when Piper noticed it.

"Nico, oh my Gods," She said in astonishment. They were at a small out-crop of beach that stood at the end of the river. Actually, thinking back she had noticed that they had been following the river that flowed in the middle of the area that they played capture the flag in. The water was different from the water on the Fireworks Beach; it was crystal clear and looked completely untouched. The sand was different too. It was white and soft like no one had ever stepped on it before. She gaped at Nico. "How did you find out about this place?"

"Percy likes to come out here sometimes. He told me about it and said if I ever needed to get away, this was the place," He said holding his hands out gesturing towards the area.

"Thanks, Nico, I appreciate it," Piper said giving Nico a big hug.

"Anytime," Nico said returning the hug. Piper stepped back and looked Nico in the eye. He blushed and looked at his feet.

"Come on, Nico!" She said grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the sand.

"Hold on, Percy told me to find something here first." Nico said unlatching his hand from hers and went to investigate a nearby rock. After about five minutes of rummaging around behind the rock he finally brought out a basket and two beach towels. "Found it!" He exclaimed tossing Piper a beach towel.

"Cool," Piper smiled and spread out her beach towel and sat down on it.

"Yep, Percy really thought of everything," Nico mirrored her smile and laid his beach towel next to hers. They talked for a while discussing everything and anything that seemed important at the time. Finally, Nico decided he was going to have a little fun. "Hey, Piper I've never seen you with your hair down," He said trying to hide his mischievous smirk.

"And I've never seen you in anything but black," She countered looking equally mischievous.

"What's wrong with black?" Nico whined pretending to be offended.

"What's wrong with braids?" Piper quipped mocking his tone.

"Fine," Nico said an idea forming in his head. "Tomorrow I'll wear something other than black if you wear your hair down."

"It's a deal Mr. Di Angelo," Piper said with a triumphant grin. "If you don't have anything other than black the Aphrodite cabin can gladly loan you some pink. And if pink's not your thing we have plenty of purple as well."

"Ha ha very funny," Nico said rolling his eyes and held out his hand. "Let's shake on it." Piper shook his hand and stood up. She looked off into the sunset and Nico took that opportunity to realize just how beautiful she was. He stood up too and they packed the beach towels back into the bag and hid it back in its hiding spot behind the rock. Piper smiled a smile at Nico that set his insides on fire and melted every last brain cell in his head. They both got lost in that moment and could've stayed that way forever if it hadn't been for the hellhounds. Nico noticed them first.

"Piper, get behind me," Nico said gritting his teeth. Piper drew her dagger and got behind him. Nico drew his sword and held his hands out towards the ground. Just as Nico had anticipated the hellhounds pounced and Nico opened up the ground they pounced on and sent them tumbling back into the Underworld. Nico then used both hands to push the ground back together in hopes to leave behind a smaller trace than that left in the Mess Hall. "Whew!" Nico wiped sweat off his face and sheathed his sword when out of nowhere a hellhound pounced on him. They went tumbling down a hill struggling against each other. Piper was shocked out of her mind. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her after them she knew she couldn't possibly stab the hellhound for fear she might hit Nico instead so she used the next best thing.

"Release him, now!" Piper commanded with all the force and power she could muster. The hellhound immediately stopped and whimpered. It backed off Nico and ran off into the depths of the forest. Piper rushed over to Nico and hugged him. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the infirmary? Should we tell Chiron? Will…" Nico put a finger to her lips.

"Piper, I'm okay, just a few cuts. No big deal." He shrugged it off as if nothing ever happened and walked with her to the Mess Hall in silence. But at the edge of the woods he paused and turned around. "Piper, thanks for saving my butt back there. I owe you." Nico ran a hand through his already messy black hair.

"Nico, you don't owe me anything," She said with a sweet smile that made Nico tingle all over. Piper walked past him and towards the Mess Hall without another word. Nico waited a few minutes so there wouldn't be any suspicion that the two of them had been alone in the woods together. Then he made his way to the Mess Hall. _Mission Accomplished._

**Well? What did you guys think? Good or bad I want to hear it so... review please! Also, a high five goes out to my good buddy The Demon King who guessed my question correctly! Good job guys and thanks to all of you who review!**_  
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	7. Chapter 7

**Hey KeeponReadin' in the house! Here's the usual crap then you can read:**

**1) I'm not Rick Riordan! If I were I'd be writing the Mark of Athena right now!**

**2) Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday! I'll make up for it today with 2 chapters... hopefully.**

**3) A big thanks goes out to all you beautiful people who reviewed my previous chapters!  
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**4) Okay, I'll shut up now so you guys can KeeponReadin' (see what I did there?):  
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**Chapter 7:**

The next morning Nico woke up with a groan. He knew he'd have to follow through with what he promised Piper, but he really didn't know what to wear. "Listen, um Aphrodite, I kind of need your help right now so if you could, uh help me that would be great." No sooner had he said it did a mysterious voice not unlike the one he heard sometimes when thinking about Piper says: _Under your bed. _As usual he heeded the voice's commands and looked under the bed. There he found a faded _white_ graphic tee that had a picture of a heart-shaped box of chocolates with the lid slightly opened and read: "'Life's like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'" _Thanks, Aphrodite, I now owe you and your daughter. _He could practically see Aphrodite sitting on her throne in Olympus laughing at him. Nico finished getting ready and zipped up a black hoodie over his shirt. He walked out of his cabin to the Mess Hall feeling as self-conscious as ever.

"Drew, I need your help," Piper sighed after trying for almost thirty minutes to tame her chocolate brown mess.

"Coming, sister dear," Drew said smiling like she had just won the lottery.

"What?" Piper asked scrunching up her eyebrows in confusion.

Drew brushed the question off. "You need hair help? Are we going for an up-do or what baby sis?"

"Yes, I need hair help. No, I just want it straight with maybe a single small braid in the front?" Piper asked her sister. Hair was a new adventure for Piper. She had always just left it in a messy braid and carried on. Hair wasn't really a life or death situation so Piper didn't treat it like one. That was until Nico came along and changed her whole world. Maybe he was "just her friend" but that didn't mean he couldn't change her life, could it? Did Annabeth feel this way about Percy before they started dating? _Maybe I should ask her about it?_ When she finally came back to reality Drew had finished with her hair and was telling her something while she was finishing the little side braid.

"I'm done! Wow I've out done myself, Piper!" Drew shrieked with joy and smiled into the mirror admiring her handiwork. Piper stood up and hugged Drew.

"Thank you so much," Piper said smiling warmly at her sister.

"No problem, that's what sister's are for right?" She smiled and shooed her sister out of the cabin. "Nico won't know what hit him!" Piper blushed furiously at the mention of his name. Piper decided it might be a good idea to talk to Annabeth first, so she headed toward the Athena cabin. She knocked and Annabeth's brother, Malcolm, answered the door.

"Hey, Piper what's wrong?" He asked.

"Why do you assume something's wrong, Malcolm?" She asked mildly confused.

"People only come to the Athena cabin for two reasons," he said matter-of-factly. "One, they need to see Annabeth, or two, something's wrong."

"True story, number one please, Malcolm." Piper said giving him an I'm-sorry-to-disturb-you-guys look.

"No problem, right this way," Malcolm turned and lead her through the maze of bunks and piles of books and blueprints crowding the floor. Some kids were tapping away on a Smart Board. "Arianna, don't forget to turn the projector off when you're done." The little girl nodded and went back to work. Malcolm continued walking and eventually came to a hallway with a door on each side and at the end of the hallway was a slightly bigger door with a regal looking owl on it. Malcolm approached it and knocked three times on one side and two more times on the other side of the door. His knocks were answered by a series of mechanical locks and slides until the door swung open to a huge study. Annabeth was sitting at a large desk in the center working on some kind of blueprint. Notes, blueprints, pictures, weapons, and books were randomly scattered and laying on every surface.

"Thank you, Malcolm. No, it's not here yet but it should be here by tomorrow night. By the way I told Chiron about it so he should be expecting it." Malcolm nodded his head and left leaving Piper and Annabeth alone in her massive study. "Piper, it's nice to see you please sit down. I know why you're here."

"Wait, what do you mean? Did Drew tell you?" Piper suddenly became very self-conscious and curious about how she could possibly know. Annabeth looked up for the first time with a very amused look in her eyes.

"Piper, let's face it, I'm a daughter of Athena. I know _everything_." Annabeth's smile increased as she stood up and walked over to where Piper was sitting. "Don't think I don't know where you and Nico were yesterday during archery."

Piper's eyes widened in horror, "You do? Who else knows? Listen, Annabeth, we weren't- I wasn't…" Piper trailed off and put her head in her hands. Annabeth patted her back.

"Don't worry, it's all in the plan… well, in my plan that is and my plans _always_ work." Piper looked up at Annabeth still horrified.

"What plan, Annabeth?" Piper asked but knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer.

"You'll find out soon enough. Now come on we don't want to be late for breakfast." Annabeth walked over to the door and whispered something to it. The door swung open and she and Piper left for breakfast. _I've got a bad feeling about this…_

**Uh-oh! Annabeth's got a plan! Piper and Nico's lives are about to get interesting! Review please... also a lot of _hints_ as to what's going to happen in Chapter 3 of my other story in this chapter!**_  
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	8. Chapter 8

**Aha! This is KeeponReadin'... see I tricked you right? Disclaimer!**

**1) I don't own Rick Riordan's soul or any of his character's or idea's soul's**

**2) This chapter is a little funky and it would help to have read my other story to better understand this one**

**3) Alright well I love all you beautiful people who read and review my stories! You guys are great!**

**4) Okay, Number 3 made me all fuzzy and mushy inside so all of you guys get a high five!**

**5) Alright I'll shut up...  
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**Chapter 8:**

As Nico walked with Percy to the Mess Hall he thought about what Percy had said about Annabeth's "Master Plan". True to his nature, Percy hadn't told Nico _anything _about the plan, just that there was a plan. As soon as breakfast was over Percy and Nico went to go find Annabeth and Piper. Annabeth and Percy were smiling ear to ear, while Nico and Piper looked like they might pass out at any second. Nico decided he'd break the silence. "Your hair looks, uh really nice, Piper."

"Thanks, Nico I like your shirt." Piper said smiling. Nico's face reddened and he looked at his shoes. Percy and Annabeth were stifling laughter… in other words: The plan was definitely working. That only made Nico and Piper blush harder. Then all of a sudden Annabeth got a faraway look in her eyes. Everyone stopped in their tracks because they knew exactly what that meant, _trouble._ Annabeth stumbled backwards a little and looked deep into Percy's eyes. He nodded.

"Guys," Annabeth said with a worried tone that prolonged disaster. "Something's seriously wrong, I can feel it." She raised both hands to her forehead and rubbed it.

"What kind of wrong?" Percy asked genuinely perplexed.

"Bad wrong. Like time and space wrong. Like universally wrong." Annabeth said not taking her hands away from her head.

"Crap," Percy said now trying to make sense of the situation. "That's my least favorite type of wrong."

"Unfortunately it's the only type of wrong we have to right." She said with a labored sigh as she focused more of her energy into deciphering the problem.

"What is it this time?" Percy grunted. He was obviously annoyed at the prospect of saving the world twice in one year.

"Oh Gods, this is serious… something's seriously wrong with the past." Annabeth said almost bending over in concentration, "It's like someone went back in time and altered time itself."

"Holy crap… I-I've heard of that before." Nico said now pacing, "Dad, mentioned something about it." He stopped and hit himself in the head, "I remember! Dad said back during the Titan War that Kronos had some sort of weapon or magical item that contained part of his power!"

"Nico, that's insane." Percy said a smile forming on his face, "I like it."

Piper rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Honestly, guys, we don't really know what this magical weapon is or where it could possibly be. At this point we're not even sure if it exists."

Nico nodded, "Yeah, I really don't know that much I just know Dad mentioned something like that."

"But it's a lead isn't it?" Percy argued.

Annabeth was ghostly pale and looked like she might collapse at any second, "L-listen, I think N-Nico's right. The visions I'm getting are fuzzy and unclear but the general idea is that someone went back in time quite possibly with a magical item or Kronos's help and messed with past events."

" 'Past events'?" Percy asked but knew the answer, "What kind of past events?"

"Um… well," Annabeth's look of confidence had long abandoned her. "It's back before we fought Gaea."

"Before we fought her…" Percy thought hard. "Oh Gods, this is bad."

"Yeah really bad…" Annabeth trailed off and into thought.

"Why? What's bad?" Nico asked terrified of the answer soon to come.

"They tampered with an extremely crucial part of our timeline." Annabeth said, "The part when Leo, Piper, Jason, and I went to Camp Jupiter to get Percy."

"Gods, that day was bad enough even without the tampering," Percy said remembering Reyna's ferocity and his fear of the task at hand.

"I know," Annabeth agreed with deep sorrow. "But, it looks like if we don't fix it some of us will experience major changes and some of us will fade from existence."

"Annabeth, you have to tell us exactly what happened." Piper stated, looking at Annabeth with hope in her kaleidoscope eyes.

"Well, instead of landing in the Lake we plummeted from the sky and thankfully my powers were at least developed enough to save us from certain death. But, in the vision Leo had broken his ankle and I-I was…" She trailed off shaking her head.

Percy stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her and mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. "Annabeth Chase, I love you a lot more than you know. I'm your best friend in the entire world and you can tell me anything."

"I-I know, it's just… I couldn't exactly see but I could feel the pain and… it was awful… I could feel myself kind of… dying."

**Fishy stuff going on! Anyone caught on to my "Master Plan"? Anyways, please review!**


	9. Author Note

**Author Note:**

**Hey everyone it's me, KeeponReadin, the author of this story that I wrote a LONG time ago. In fact, this was the very first story I ever wrote as an author on this site. While this story does hold a whole lot of sentimental value I will probably not be posting anymore chapters for it. **

**The reasons being: 1.) I'm just way too busy writing all my other stories and 2.) On top of the stories that I'm writing and updating currently I'm writing a book and constantly getting new ideas for new stories that I just don't have time to write.**

**I'm not totally abandoning the story nor am I taking it off the site because like I said, it has a whole lot of sentimental value just because it was my first story. Later on in the future I may be able to continue it and touch it up, seeing as it was my first it was also the most poorly written as far as grammar, sentence structure, and so on. This will only happen if: 1.) You, the readers, demand it. 2.) I get enough free time (between my summer job, running, writing my book, vacations, and summer activities in general it isn't looking good for my writing schedule). 3.) Or my crazy, mixed-up, ADD-esque brain demands it.**

**Either way, I just wanted to post this and let you guys know. I've been meaning to post this for a while now but, like I said, I'm REALLY busy. Anyway, thanks for reading, reviewing, and all that other stuff. Feel free to check out my other stories that I WILL be updating (sooner or later...). Again, thank you guys for reading it means A LOT to me. **

**Your author in demigodishness, **

**KeeponReadin **


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